The Infamous Question
by Whispers From A Silver Tongue
Summary: Artemis Fowl finds himself torn between Sherlock Holmes and James Moriarty. After getting his memories back, he isn't sure quite who he is yet. When criminal Jon Spiro is kidnapped by Moriarty, Artemis isn't certain if he wants to free him or join Moriarty in holding him. Sorry I suck at summaries.
1. The Unknown Answer

**Hello peoples of Earth, Canada and beyond! This is Whisp here hoping you like my first fanfiction. My first crossover of this kind, anyway. The funniest thing is, when I began this I had only the name. I had no plot, no setting, no nothing! Lame, right? But now I have a story and stuff, soooooo, I'm ready to go! I will apologize in advance for my most certainly-going-to-be-horrible updating schedule. More specifically, my lack of one. I will be publishing chapters as I write them, and I have no set chapter number. So please bear with me here, I'm a bit new. So if you read all the way to the end of this ridiculously long Author's Note, then** **have a good reading. If you didn't, have one anyway.**

**The story, dear readers, is on!**

** The Infamous Question**

**Chapter One: The Unknown Answer**

The cafe where the man sat was not crowded. The tarnished chrome tables so normally filled with chattering college students and working adults were devoid of life. The booths, with their chipping paint and cracked tables were no better. However, it was not surprising. Anyone who hadn't gone away for the holiday had a better place to be than some dinky cafe. But the only patron did not mind. The silence was welcome to the man. The perfect place to think of a next move in this great game. He sat silently, every so often tapping away at his laptop. it was as if the universe had a cruel sense of irony, that the only person in the cafe had no intention of purchasing anything. The waitresses and cashier were all too aware of this, seeing as the waitresses were nowhere to be found and the teenager at the cash register was busy on her mobile phone.

The perfect silence in which the man found space to think was shattered when the rusty bell hanging at the door tinkled merrily, offsetting the rather gloomy interior. The individual who slunk through the door he had opened was also at odds with the cheerful sound. His eyes immediately flicked to the man in the booth. With no more than a second of thought, he sat down in front of him. His eyes flicked above his laptop for a second and he sat back, closing it. The stranger who had just arrived was most definitely strange. The fact that stood out most to the man was the fact that the stranger was no older than fourteen. A boy. He had raven hair that had been meticulously brushed back from his forehead, showing off sparkling sapphire eyes. This was obviously someone who cared about physical appearances. This idea was enhanced by the clean Armani suit he wore. His blue eyes were glaring into the man's brown ones in a way that would have unsettled most people. But the man was not most people. The stranger broke the silence after he had finished taking in all he could of the man across from him.

" You know, you're a dead ringer for that criminal who shot himself on Bart's Hospital roof." The man knew that the youth knew who he was. But he wouldn't admit it, not just yet.

"Might I ask your name, and why you have chosen out of all the empty tales to sit down in front of me, someone you have never met before, and then talk to me?" the boy looked almost happy at his response. Time for some fun.

" But of course. The name is Artemis Fowl the Second, and I found it worth my time to sit in front of you simply because it's not every day you get to meet a supposedly-dead criminal." both people were now in their element. Finding things out. Planning. Artemis would surely like to find out whatever the man was planning. And the man could certainly use someone to be his eyes and ears. The case of ' The Reichenbach Fall' as the press were calling it made the news in several countries. The man's name and face were all over. But they thought he was dead, so it wouldn't do well to go and show off.

The man stood up, decidedly taking to the pale youth. He knew there was no point in lying to Artemis, so might as well be honest for once. " James Moriarty. Nice to meet you, Artemis." he shook the boy's hand before they both sat again. Moriarty had questions for the boy, so before Artemis could get a word on he spoke. " How did you know that I wasn't dead?" Artemis was pleased at this question. It was nice to find someone who recognized his intelligence despite his age. " It was obvious." Moriarty smirked with an expression to rival Artemis's own " How?" He asked. Let's see how this boy measured up to his favorite detective.

Artemis guessed the trick. "You already know, obviously. Why ask me?" every question they asked they already knew the answer to. They were testing the other, now. To see who was cleverer.

" I want you to prove you know it. Obviously." Artemis knew it.

" I saw some footage from security cameras that the police had kept hidden. First of all the resonance of the gun was off for an actual shot. I'm surprised that Holmes didn't notice. The blood that you could see wasn't enough for a full on shot to the head. You must have had some form of blood ampoules attached to your head that burst when you fell. I've seen the tactic used before." Moriarty looked pleased when Artemis gave his explanation. He smiled.

"Correct. Now, _what_ a _name._ Artemis Fowl. I've heard that name before. Not just heard it, either. I knew your father, Artemis. I knew him very well. He had come to me for 'help' before. An incorrect informant, a disloyal partner, you name it. I helped show them it wasn't a good idea to disagree with Artemis Fowl senior. Now you, you don't want anything. Correct? You _were _looking for me, however, so the question is, why?"

Moriarty was straight to the point, Artemis had to admit. He had heard of Moriarty before, of course, in criminal circles, whispers of the name. but never in context with his father. He could never imagine Artemis Fowl Sr. working with a man like him. Moriarty was crazy. He was a killer. The realization hit Artemis like a ton of bricks. The man in front of him, that he had _voluntarily sat down in front of_ was a man that would not hesitate to kill someone just because he could. He kept all emotion off his face, pretending to be carefully formulating a response. It was partly true, anyway.

Moriarty smiled. This was not a smile of happiness, but neither, Artemis noted, was it a mischeivous-for lack of a better word-smile like Artemis himself often wore. It had much more madness, more _evil_ than Artemis had ever seen, except maybe on Opal Koboi's face. It scared him.

" Nothing to say, Arty? Nothing at all? If that's all you've got I'll be leaving. But first I'm going to ask you a question. You don't have to answer me immediately, but believe me. I'll get an answer sooner or later. Are you ready?"

Artemis swallowed his doubt. He was relatively sure that he could handle any question Moriarty could throw at him. And that was his big mistake he smirked, and nodded confidently.

" Good. The question is. . .

"Are you on the side of the angels?"

And with that parting question, the consulting criminal walked out of the small cafe with a smile on his face that drew the cashier's attention away from her phone long enough to stare at it with fear. She too recognized the madness in Moriarty's smile, and she too recognized his face. She gulped. All the while Artemis was still sitting in the booth, staring at where Moriarty's eyes were a moment ago, pondering a question he had asked himself many time before in recent events. One he still did not know the answer to.

**Ok! Here is chapter one of The Infamous Question. I hope you've guessed the infamous question by now, and I hope you liked it as much as I did. It is important to note that the events in the story take place after The Opal Deception in the AF series and after The Reichenbach Fall in Sherlock. The theory for how Moriarty faked his death came partly from a Tumblr page and partly from my own mind. And don't worry, the next chapter will include both Holly and Sherlock alike. **

**Quote of the chapter:**

**"Holmes, Moriarty, they both look the same with the flesh scorched off their skulls"**

**-Julius Root to Foaly,****_ Artemis Fowl._**

**Disclaimer: if I were in any way the BBC or Eoin Colfer, I'm pretty sure I would have better things to do than write Fanfiction about my own characters. Long story short, these characters all belong to their respective owners, aka the BBC and Eoin Colfer. I only own my words.**

**Anyone who reviews or puts my story on alert gets a wish, a kiss, and a fish for free. And if you don't want those, I have chocolate chip cookies.**

**This is Whisp here, signing off.**


	2. The Urgent Warning

**Here we are again, so soon. . . Greetings! Whisp here saying hi. I present to you Chapter Two of The Infamous Question. This chapter will introduce Holly, Sherlock, and John. It's been two whole days since the last chapter, but I did say I would be updating wierdly. Just reminding you not to expect a** schedule.

**The story, dear readers, is on!**

**The Infamous Question**

** Chapter Two: The Urgent Warning**

Artemis was still thoughtful throughout the journey to the hotel. He kept turning Moriarty's question over in his head. After just recently having his memories of the fairy People returned after a mind wipe he still wasn't sure if he was a criminal or a hero anymore. _That's _ what bothered him so much about Moriarty's question. He didn't know.

* * *

He was planning to meet Holly at the hotel, but now he had other ideas. He _had _to go and see Sherlock Holmes. After the incident with Moriarty, Artemis had felt the strange urge to speak to the consulting detective. But that was a problem. Sherlock Holmes was dead. Artemis was sure it was faked, but nobody else was. He ha- his thought were rudely interrupted when the black taxi he was riding back to the hotel in jerked to a halt. He shook his head to clear it, then thanked the cabbie and exited the cab. His mind was elsewhere when he stepped through the crowded hotel. He was making up his mind when he entered his suite. He waved at the heat shimmer in the middle of the room, smiling genuinely.

" Was it really necessary to shield, Holly?" he asked his good friend. The LEP officer materialized and then smiled as well. " Nice to see you too, Mud Boy. Committed any crimes lately?" it was their big joke. Artemis had largely gone to the 'good side' before the mind wipe that had eliminated the fairy people. After that he was a crook again. He had recently gotten his memories back, and was uncertain if he still was. He sat down on the meticulously made bedspread. Of late, the joke wasn't as funny to him. Holly looked on with concern. She knew Artemis fairly well, and she knew when he was upset. She sat down beside him, her LEP uniform clashing horribly with Artemis's suit. " Artemis." she said, her voice carrying real concern." What's wrong. Did something happen?" Artemis didn't know what to say. This didn't happen very often. He swallowed. Better tell the truth. " H-have you heard of James M-Moriarty?" Holly wrapped her arms around the boy. He didn't stutter unless something had seriously scared him. She gulped. James Moriarty? What did Artemis have to do with _him?_ The LEP had never made a move against him, he hadn't commited any crimes involving the fairy people, but they _knew _him, that was for sure. Holly was no fan of the criminal. " What about him, Artemis?" she inquired softly. He was supposidly dead. Artemis turned his head to face her, and Holly saw something in His sapphire eyes she'd only seen once. Fear. " I m-met him, Holly. He was in a cafe on Baker Street and I _sat down in front of him._ That _killer." _Holly frowned. Artemis would normally not be so scared of Moriarty. What had he said? " Artemis, why are you scared?" Artemis sighed. He'd have to tell her, eventually. " He-He asked me one question. And it scared me." Holly got up, putting her helmet on. She raised the visor, and spoke to Artemis. "What did he ask you?" Artemis's reply was little more than a whisper.

" Are you on the side of the angels?"

* * *

Holly frowned. Artemis was already having trouble coming to terms with who he was, and now _this?_ One stupid mastermind asking him a question and it troubled him _this much? _She sighed. " Artemis, don't pay a bit of attention to that little _bleiber's _words. He is only a criminal. You aren't." Artemis just looked at the floor. Holly dashed right up to him. " _Artemis. Listen. _You are not a criminal. You are so, _so_ much better than Moriarty. Take my advice and heed my warning. Stay away from him. You'll be fine." and with that, Captain Holly Short activated her Hummingbird wings and flew out of the open hotel room window. Artemis looked at her retreating figure. He smiled. She was right. He was nowhere near Moriarty's level of low. But a small voice still whispered in the back of his head, remembered Holly's words.

_"Remind you of anyone?" Artemis was horrified._

_" I am nothing like Jon Spiro! That man is a cold-blooded killer!" he exclaimed. Holly shook her head._

_" Give yourself a few years."_

{please note that for a while I was contemplating ending the chapter here, but it was so short that I decided to press on.}

* * *

Holly bit her lip as she flew to the nearest shuttleport. E1, Tara. With a blink of her eyes, she called up the LEP database. She'd rather not ask Foaly on this one. She spoke quickly and clearly into the microphone. " James Moriarty." the database immediately showed a picture of the man as well as the dialogue she was about to hear. She groaned inwardly as the voice recording began. the voice they had used was Lili Frond. That bimbo. Nevertheless she listened closely to the information on the man Artemis had met.

_"James Moriarty, age 33, is a criminal well-known to the LEP. He was born near Dublin, Ireland, and moved to Brighton at age eight, after his father's death. He is a confirmed pschopath, and has had several high IQ test results. _

Holly groaned. Yet another crazy, homicidal genious. Wasn't knowing one enough?

_He has been proven to be behind break-ins at Pentonvile Prison, he National Bank, and the Tower of London. According to the Mud Men, he recently committed suicide in the form of shooting himself in the mouth, along with detective Sherlock Holmes. It is commonplace among the humans that James Moriarty was an actor named Richard Brook, but due to technical research of the centaur Foaly, we have discovered that Richard Brook does not exist, and James Moriarty does._

The report ended. Holly thought a black joke as she flew. Another Irish criminal. The information she had been given wasn't too helpful, except for the fact that he was presumed dead. If she could find his location and tell Artemis, she could get him to tell the police. and then it was bye-bye Moriarty and hello sane Artemis. She sighed. as much as she hated calling him, she had to get Foaly in on this one. She activated her communicator and dialed Foaly's number.

"Foaly? Are you there? I need your help." if anything would convince him to help, it would be a beg for help. Or a challenge. and she had both. Foaly's voice came through the speaker, crackly and disjointed.

''Holly? 'S that you?'' Holly held her breath. This would be hard.

"Yeah, Foaly. It's me. I have a 'case' of sorts and i need your help." In the small screen in her visor, he could see Foaly make an impatient gesture with his hands.

" I bet I have something better. You're in London, right? with Artemis? weeelll, you might have to make a longer flight. I have big, big, _big_ news. It's about the Mud Man Jon Spiro. Remember him? Well yeah. He's been kidnapped."

* * *

**A/N: Hi all! Whisp here. Yeah, I changed my pen name. While I was writing the chapter. Fail. And I lied. the chapter didn't introduce John or Sherlock. I doubt they'll show up for a couple chapters. Which might be a week or a month, with my non-existant updating schedule. And, before i forget, please forgive me if any information with my quotes or the canons for both Sherlock and AF is incorrect. I'm trying my best, but some facts may be warped.**

**Moriarty: Will I get an appearance next chapter? it's been to long sice you've seen me.**

**Whisp: Maybe. You'll see.**

**(applies to all characters except Artemis.)**

**Quote of the Chapter:**

**"Falling's just like flying, but with a more permanent destination." -James Moriarty, "The Reichenbach Fall"**

**Disclaimer: I've said it before. Seriously. Do you really think I'm _remotely _like the BBC, or Eoin Colfer? Eoin's a middle aged author. The BBC is a TV network. I'm an obsessed fangirl writing obbsessive fanfics. I am neither of these. Long story short, I don't own anything but my words.**

**And now, I beg of you, REVIEW! Please? I'd like to see what y'all think. And I know people have read it. So if it's worth your time, chuck a review my way. I'll give you a cookie. And without further ado,**

**This is Whisp here, signing off.**


	3. The Unsolved Case

**OMG YOU GUYS! I GOT A FOLLOWER! A REAL LIVE FOLLOWER! AND A REVIEWER! Yeah, sorry about the screaming of loundness. I'm just really excited. Thank you, Reader of a thousand tales, for being my first-ever follower! And thank you, Luckyreader200, for being my first reviewer. And in case you forgot, this is Whisp here. Yeah. Pointing out the obvious. Anyway, I don't have that much to say, except to welcome you to chapter Three. Without further ado,**

**The story, dear readers, is on!**

**The Infamous Question**

**Chapter Three: The Unsolved Case**

Jon Spiro was jolted into consciousness by an ice-cold bucket of water. He shook his head and spit. Then he looked around. He was in a cold, grey, damp room. The room had a small, hard-looking cot in one corner, and a hole, presumably for relieving oneself, in another.

Weirdly enough, Spiro was not tied down. He was, however, soaking wet and shivering. There was no sign of who had doused him. He was alone. He tried to remember how he had gotten here. He had been in the Spiro Needle. Yes. That was right. Then, he had moved to his bedroom. Nothing new. He fell asleep, and woke up. . . Here? That didn't make sense. Alarms should have gone off. Lots of alarms. How did these people get to him? He was turning this over in his head when he heard an almost-silent squeaking of hinges. By the time he had turned around, the door had swung shut. Now standing in his cell was a larger, blonde man and a short, black-haired man in a suit. The blonde was dutifully silent. Spiro almost chuckled, reminiscent of Arno Blunt, Spiro's bodyguard.

The man in the suit was the first to speak. "Hello, Mr. Spiro. Or can I call you Jon?" He smiled a little wider at Spiro's scowl. "No. You may most certainly _not _call me Jon." the man still had the annoying smile on his face. Damn him." Well then, Jon, however clichè this may sound, I bet you're wondering why you're here." The only thing stopping Jon from stepping up and strangling the man was the threat of the blonde standing at the black-haired man's right shoulder. " Yes I am." Jon was honest. If he was hostile in any way, they might not find it in themselves to give him the information he craved. And he couldn't have that.

Jon Spiro was a man not used to not knowing things. He was the person who sat back, and watched all the masses running about to find out what he already knew. And although he'd never admit it, being here with this man unnerved him greatly.

The man stared at him for a short while and then chuckled. " You'll do. You'll do fine, especially if the boy decides to side with Sherlock." Jon was did the man mean? What boy? The black haired man was continuing. " I am Jim Moriarty. That's about all I'll tell you. Yes, I do think that's all. Enough to go on, don't you think?" and with another chuckle, he left the cell with the blonde following him out. Spiro was still staring. He knew that name. Several of his contacts were, shall we say, _affiliated, _with the man. And if there was one thing Spiro had culled from all the whispers of the name, was that he was dangerous. Very so. Jon Spiro sat back against the wall. There wasn't anything to do but wait, he supposed, so that was what he'd do.

* * *

Holly stopped dead in the air.

"S-Spiro's been kidnapped?" She could she the video feed she was getting of Foaly nod solemnly.

"Yup. It was going to happen, Holly, sooner or later. The guy had enemies." Holly started forward again. Like most of the time, Foaly was right. "We're not gonna try to find him, are we?" Foaly felt her suprise dissapate.

"nope. As far as we can tell, he wasn't kidnapped by one of the People. You can tell Artemis, maybe he'll want to find him." Holly nodded, her sense of the present returning, and the memories of Spiro dissipating. She returned to the matter at hand.

"Foaly, listen to me. I have something I _need_ to find out. And only you can tell me."

Foaly looked half annoyed, half interested. But mostly the former. "Holly, I'm busy. I cant just drop everything and help you. Do you know what Root would say if he knew I was helping you? It's bad enough you're making me cover for you so you can visit the Mud Boy." Holly knew he was right. Root would be furious if he found out she had been talking to Artemis. As far as he knew, she was investigating strange energy readings near London.

"Look, Foaly, I know I'm asking a lot,but I need you to hear me out," She saw the vidfeed of Foaly give an exaggerated sigh. "Fine, but it better be good." Holly swallowed. It was imperative that she word this right.

"I need your help to find something, if you're up for it." Foaly was a smidgen more intrigued, Holly could tell. But he was hiding it well behind the cautious tones of his answer.

"Who?"

Holly bit her lip. "James Moriarty." she spoke the words quickly, as though they were poison. She could tell Foaly was suspicious.

"You mean the psycho who tried to kill Sherlock Holmes? Why do you need to find _him?" _Holly took a deep breath.

"Artemis saw him at a coffee shop in London," she began. "and something Moriarty said unnerved him to no end. I want to find him so Artemis can tell the police, and then we can send him off to jail and be done with it." Holly knew what she had said probably wouldn't convince Foaly. Desperate, she said the only thing that had come to mind.

"Moriarty is a criminal. There aren't that many types of crime he hasn't committed. It's not impossible that he kidnapped Spiro." Foaly bit his lip. Holly smirked. She knew she'd hooked him.

"fine. I'll find him. But be warned, Holly the humans think he's dead, and if he's not dead, he's an actor. You need proof that he committed all those crimes." Holly nodded.

She wheeled her set of Hummingbirds around. She'd go tell Artemis about Spiro's kidnapping, and hopefully set him on the case.

* * *

It was early the next morning that Holly appeared in Artemis's hotel room. It was obvious the boy had just woken up, from his bedraggled pajamas and messy bedsheets.

He jerked to attention when he heard Holly open the window and climb in. When Butler had checked them into the hotel, Artemis had played the perfect 'I'm an innocent kid' act, and asked the lady at the desk if he could bring his 'fairy friends' in with him. It had worked with Spiro, and had worked with this woman. Holly could now command go as she pleased.

"good morning, Holly," he greeted. " I thought you we going back to Haven?"

Holly twirled the desk chair that had been sitting previously unused, and sat backwards on it facing Artemis. "I have some news. I was going to call you, but I thought you'd like it if told you in person."

Artemis nodded, and set about making his bed as he listened. "yes?"

Holly sighed. "do you remember Jon Spiro?" Artemis nodded.

"How could I forget the man whose antics made me lose my memory?" he remarked. Holly smiled at the quip. He seemed to be quickly recovering from the unnerving incident with Moriarty.

"Well, the thing is, Artemis, he's been kidnapped." Artemis kept his almost ever-present mask of indifference on his face, but Holly could see beyond it. Could already see the battle happening within the boy. She had felt it very recently herself.

"Really?" he asked, allowing his mask to fall. He bit his lip as he finished putting the last sheet in place. Holly nodded.

"are you going to look for him?" Holly asked casually. Artemis sat on the foot of his newly-made bed.

"I'm not sure," the Irish youth began. "He most certainly wasn't a friend of mine when he tried to steal my technology,"

"which you stole from us."

"but he is a human being, and as one of the only people who has the resources to find him, it couldn't hurt to try."

Holly smiled. It seems that the Mud Boy was starting to get good again. Nodding at Artemis, she summed up things quite nicely.

"So we're going to look for Jon Spiro."

* * *

**A/N: So that only took forever. I'm really, really sorry for the long wait, guys! I hope this chapter met standards, and hopefully actually moved the story along.**

**Quote of the Chapter:**

**"I was a broken boy, and you fixed me. Thank you." -Artemis Fowl, _The Last Guardian_**

**Disclaimer: Have any of y'all seen my profile? Well, there's a nice little word there that says 'country'. Next to that is the American flag. The BBC is British. Eoin Colfer is Irish. 'nuff said. I don't own anything but my words.**

**And without further ado,**

**This is Whisp here, signing off.**


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